


Meta: The Sacrifices: Virgins, Warriors, Healers, Philosophers and Guardians

by elizabeth_rice



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Canon - TV, Darach arc, Meta, Mid-Canon, Nonfiction, Sacrifices, Season/Series 03, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-30
Updated: 2013-09-30
Packaged: 2017-12-28 00:36:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/985529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elizabeth_rice/pseuds/elizabeth_rice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In this meta essay, I examine the sacrifices that Jennifer Blake committed and why, and why Deucalion said "nine" and "twelve".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Meta: The Sacrifices: Virgins, Warriors, Healers, Philosophers and Guardians

In this meta essay, I examine the sacrifices that Jennifer Blake committed and why, and why Deucalion said "nine" and "twelve".

First, the list of sacrifices Jennifer Blake successfully committed:  
1\. Virgins: Heather, Emily, and purity-ring teen.  
2\. Warriors: Adrian Harris, Kyle, and music teacher.  
3\. Healers: three doctors working in BHMH.  
4\. Philosophers: Tara Graeme, Mr. Westover and the concert pianist (who was probably the substitute music teacher).

Sacrifices chosen by Jennifer Blake but not killed:  
1\. Guardians: Melissa McCall, Sheriff Stilinski, and Chris Argent.

Unsuccessful sacrifices:  
1\. Werewolves: Scott McCall, Isaac Lahey, Vernon Boyd, and Ethan.

So the first questions is: Why werewolves?

I pondered over this so much: why would Jennifer Blake choose to sacrifice our favourite werewolves. It was only after watching episode 3x12: "Lunar Ellipse" that I realised the reason. Jennifer needed to make five sets of sacrifices: Virgins, Warriors, Healers, Philosphers, and Guardians. Jennifer could have used the werewolves for their supernatural strength, but she had already sacrificed Warriors so that wasn't the reason.

But Jennifer also needed Guardians. Put in other words, she needed bodyguards. If Warriors are offence, then Guardians are defence. Who would make better bodyguards than three werewolves? If Stiles, Lydia and Allison were not successful at stopping Scott, Boyd and Ethan from committing suicide, then Jennifer would never have gone after the parents. It's a very horrible and disturbing thought.

So next question: Why didn't Jennifer Blake kill the three parents?

Let's study the list of _successful_ sacrifices. Sacrificing Warriors gave Jennifer the strength to fight her foes who were werewolves. Healers gave Jennifer the ability to heal herself. Philosophers gave Jennifer the ability to strategise. But Virgins don't have the kind of skills that Jennifer could have used in her mission to get revenge. In fact, it is a lack of experience that makes someone a virgin. So what were Virgins used for? The answer is, logically, energy or power. Jennifer confirmed this when she was trapped in the elevator with Derek in episode 3x11: "The Overlooked".

(I know a lot of fans still think that Jennifer used the virgins to seduce Derek but that is not correct. And doesn't even make any sense. One would need to sacrifice three sirens in order to gain the power to seduce!)

There are a lot of people in Beacon Hills who can detect lies and scents; all of the werewolves -- Scott, Derek, Isaac, Erica, Boyd, Jackson, Peter and the Alpha pack. Then there is Alan Deaton and Marin Morrell, who seem to know a lot that goes on in BH and outside and, because they are Druids, they have knowledge about other druids and darachs.

(Reminder: Jennifer knew a lot about Derek and Paige, so I believe she also knew about the four teenagers that Derek turned into werewolves and therefore she probably knew that there were potentially five werewolves currently attending BHHS. Well, a lot of fans agree that Jennifer was creepily interested in or obsessed with Derek, which probably means she knew all of his movements -- she probably even knew about Kate, about Derek leaving BH with Laura, Laura's murder, the whole mess with Peter, Derek turning four teenagers, and hey, maybe she even knew about the heavy UST between Stiles and Derek!)

Jennifer needed to lie to all these people, not just Derek. We know that Jennifer sacrificed all those birds when she was in the OR to save her own life and possibly repair the injuries that Kali inflicted on her. We know that Alphas have the power to mask their scents. So Jennifer sacrificed Virgins to gain power so _she_ could mask herself like an Alpha. It explains why Derek was so shocked when Scott used mistletoe to reveal her true form in episode 3x11: "The Overlooked". Derek who is very good at detecting lies (Deaton and Jackson in season 1), could not detect _her_ lies even though she was standing right in front of him. Derek only knew that Jennifer was lying because he sensed that Stiles and Scott were telling the truth. IOW, Derek was also forced to rely on logic just like ordinary humans.

So what skills would Jennifer gain if she sacrificed Guardians? Lets examine the facts. (a) Jennifer used mountain ash to defend herself from Scott, Derek and Deucalion in 3x12. (b) Jennifer tried but failed to sacrifice three werewolves. (c) She kidnapped the Sheriff, Melissa and Chris but did not kill them. Instead she went to Derek and told him that she wouldn't kill the parents as long as Derek agreed to protect her from Deucalion so she could finally get her revenge.

If Jennifer had successfully sacrificed three werewolves or the parents, then I believe that she would not have needed to use mountain ash. That's why she needed the guardians! She couldn't successfully fight Deucalion if she was forced to stay inside a barrier of mountain ash. The Guardians would have acted as a shield protecting her from Deucalion.

Mountain ash has the ability to protect people from werewolves as well as kanimas and their masters. So basically all supernatural creatures and any human closely linked to them.

Conclusion: if a darach wants power, then he or she sacrifices Virgins. If a darach wants a protective shield that works as a fantastic substitute for mountain ash, then he or she sacrifices Guardians.

Another interesting observation a viewer can make is that Jennifer always chose four sacrifices. Here's the list of fourths:  
1\. Stiles Stillinski, the virgin: I don't know how many other fans noticed this one but Spikedluv was the one to bring it to my attention. I really believe that she is right about Stiles being a potential fourth sacrifice, and when Stiles rushed upstairs to get a condom, that actually saved his life.  
2\. Vernon Boyd, the warrior: I believe that Boyd was a potential fourth sacrifice, which means that Boyd was targetted twice; second time in episode 3x06: "Motel California".  
3\. Alan Deaton, the healer: when Alan was taken, it confirmed the fact that Jennifer Blake was _choosing_ four sacrifices but only _killing_ three out of four.  
4\. Isaac Lahey, the werewolf or guardian: Isaac was the only one who didn't try to commit suicide because he became trapped inside his own nightmare, which makes him a potential sacrifice.  
5\. Derek Hale, the guardian: well, Jennifer gave him an ultimatum: guard/protect her from Deucalion or she would kill the parents. Actually, Derek was a perfect choice as a guardian. In season 1, Scott gets Derek arrested, rejects him continually. What does Derek do? Derek protects Scott as he struggles to learn control.

Last question: Why did Deucalion say "nine" and "twelve"?

Well, first of all, Jennifer had only killed a total of twelve sacrifices and Philosophers were the last set of sacrifices she killed before facing Deucalion. Ethan and Aiden were the only Alphas there when the two of the Philosophers were taken or killed.

Virgins, Warriors, Healers, Philosophers and Guardians. Out of these, which are the kind of skills that could aid Jennifer in a battle against werewolves? Virgins for power, Warriors for their strength and Philosophers for strategy. Healers are a good defensive measure, but Philosophers were the last set of sacrifices she committed before she went to fight Deucalion. And remember, Jennifer was carrying mountain ash and was using Derek as Guardian. So basically Jennifer didn't need to kill all 15 victims. Because Jennifer had failed to sacrifice werewolves, she used Derek as an alternate solution and used the parents both as leverage and as back-up. She only needed to kill twelve innocent people in order to face Deucalion.

**Author's Note:**

> I had meant to post this essay a lot earlier. Not sure if any of the TW cast or crew have revealed anything new about the Darach arc, so feel free to tell me if I've missed something.
> 
> I was also going to post a review of 3A, but I decided to post this meta essay instead focussed on the darach arc. I think I might post another meta essay on 3A focussed on another topic.


End file.
